Block-forming machine.



T. L. 'BUGLER.

BLOGK FORMING MACHINE.

AP PLIOATION FILED MAY 16,1910.

Patented Mar. 31, 1914,

4 SHEETS-SHEET. 1.

.T. L. BUGLER. BLOCK FORMING MAOHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 16, 1910. 1 092 090 Patented Mar. 31, 1914, 4SHEETS-SHEET 2.

T. L. BUGLER. BLOCK FORMING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 16,1910.

Patented Mar. 31, 19%

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

T. L. BUGLE-R.

BLOCK FORMING MACHINE.

APPLIOATION FILED MAY 16, 1910.

Patented Mar. 31, 1914.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

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THOMAS L. BUGLER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

BLOCK-FORMING MACHINE.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 31, 1914.

Application filed May 16, 1910. Serial No. 561,565.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, THOMAS L. Ensure, acitizen of theUnited States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cookand State of Illinois, have invented certain new an useful Improvementsin Block-Forming Machines, of which the following 1s a specification.

This invention relates to machines for forming blocks or cakes from asheet of stock. It is herein shown as embodied in a machine for makingsuch cakes or blocks as are to be treated to form bon-bons, macaroons,and the like. I

The present invention is in the nature 01' an improvement upon themachine shown in my copending application Serial No. 171,006, filedJanuary 6, 1909. In sa d machine the sheet of plastic material is fed toa punching mechanism which punches blocks from the sheet, thus formingapertures in the sheet, and the apertured sheet becoming scrap. Thepunchedeout blocks are received upon a conveyer, while the scrap isremoved from anism by another conveyer.

It has been found that when the blocks are removed from the sheet thereis danger that the blocks will become displaced with relation to oneanother. To place a quantity of sticky blocks in order after they havebecome disarranged is a vexatious and time-consuming operation.

The finished pieces of confectionery must be packed close together inthe conta ners in which they are marketed, hence 1t is highly desirablethat the blocks leave the cutting machine compactly grouped together sothat it shall not be necessary to handle or rearrange the pieces.

When cakes of non-rectangular shape are formed from a sheet, thematerial between adjacent cakes becomes scrap. In the machine hereinshown, instead of removing the cakes or blocks from the sheet, thescraps or waste pieces are removed, the blocks being left connectedtogether by Webs of the candy material. By this means the blocks areformed in compact groups, the pieces not being liable to becomedisarranged or displaced.

A further advantage of the present arrangement is that a convcyer neednot be provided'for the scraps or waste pieces, since the scraps may bedischarged in a chute or receptacle.

the punching mech-.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation-of a machineembodying the features of my invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinalvertical central section through said machine. Fig. 8 is a section online 3 3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a detail view of the means fortransmitting motion to the adjustable feed rolls. Fig. 5 is a detailview showing, in topplan, the operation of forming a sheet into blocks.Fig. 6 is a top plan view of the stripper plate. Fig. 7 is a sectionalview of the die cylinder, showing also a cleaner for said cylinder. Fig.8 is an elevation of said cylinder. Fig. 9 is a vertical sectional viewthrough the cutting mechanism. Fig. 10 is a fragmental perspective viewof the cutter. Fig. 11 is a sectional view and Fig. 12 is a fragmentalelevation of a water-spraying pipe.

The general arrangement of the present machine is clearly indicated inFig. 2. As shown in said figure, the cutting mechanism is locatedcentrally of the machine. At one side of the cutting mechanism is aconveyor for carrying a sheet a (Fig. 5) of the stock to the mechanism,while at the other side of said mechanism is a conveyer for removing theconnected series of blocks 6. The scraps punched from the sheet aredischarged upon a chute which delivers the scraps at the desired point.

The mechanisms of the machine are driven from a shaft 1 carrying a drivepulley 2 and a balance wheel 3. Fixed on the shaft 1 is a pinion 41 thatmeshes with a pinion 5 mounted on the frame, the latter pinion being inmesh with a spur gear wheel 6 rigidly mounted on a shaft 7. The shaft 7is connected by means of eccentrics 8 and 9 and eccentric rods 10 and 11with two cross-heads 12 and 13 slidably mounted upon guide posts 14:fixed in the supporting frame. The cross-head 13 carries a cutter organg of cutters 15. As shown in Fig. 5, the cutter is so shaped as todefine the cakes by cutting out the stock between them; in other words,the cutter consists of two halves 15 arranged to define one-half of onerow of cakes and the adjacent half of the next row of cakes. The cutterherein shown is adapted to form elliptical cakes, but it will beunderstood that the precise shape of the cutter is no part of theinvention, as the cutter may be made as to produce cakes of any desiredoutline.

The cutter 1s notched as at 16 and 17, and

of such cross-sectional form 71 the downward or cutting stroke of thecutter is so adjusted that the notched portions 16 17 do not quite passthrough the sheet, thereby forming webs 0 (Z which unite the blocks andhold them in proper relative position. WVithin the cutter 15 is aplurality of ejectors 18 for clearing the cutter from the scraps e. Inthis instance each ejector consists of a socketed member having a block-19 (Fig. 9) of felt or other suitable material fixed therein. Theejectors are provided with stems 20 which are attached to the cross-head12.

Just above the path of movement of the sheet a is located a strippingmeans of suitable construction. In the present embodiment, the stripperconsists of two plates 21 confining between them a layer 22 of felt orother absorbent material, the stripper being suitably secured in placein the frame of the machine. The plates 21 and the layer of felt areapertured for the passage of the cutter 15.

Directly below the plane of movement of the sheet there is located asuitable die to cooperate with the cutter 15 in severing the sheet a.Said die is preferably in the form of a cylinder 23, as herein shown,the cylinder being rotatably supported in the ma chine frame. In thisinstance, there are two diametrically opposite die openings 24 in thecylinder, the latter being moved through a series of half-revolutionsduring the intervals between the cutting actions of the cutter. Themeans herein shown for imtermittently rotating the die cylindercomprises a gear sector 25 (Fig. 1) fixed on the shaft 7 and arranged tomesh with a pinion 26 fast on one of the journals of the cylinder.Suitable means may be provided for locking the die cylinder in itsoperative position, as, for example, two spring detents 27 (Fig. 8)adapted to engage in recesses 28 in the cylinder. In the die cylinderare two diametrically opposite openings 23 through which the scrapsforced into the cylinder by the ejectors 18 may drop I into a chute 1said chute directing the scraps to a suitable receptacle 1.

The stock is fed to the cutting mechanism by means comprising an endlessbelt conveyer 29. The supporting roller 30 of the conveyer is mounted instationary bearings, while the other roller 31, is mounted in adjustablebearings so that slack in the belt may be taken up by increasing thedistance between the rollers 30 and 31. The adjustable support for theroller 31 is herein obtained by mounting the roller journals in boxes 32which are slidable in ways in the machine frame, screws 33 beingprovided for moving the boxes.

The conveyer 29 may be driven by any suitable means, as, for instance, aratchet wheel 34 fixed on one of the journals of the roller 31, an arm35 loose on said journal, a

. pawl 36 carried by the arm 35 and engaging in Fig. 3. In this figure,the crank arm and the connecting link are designated by the characters37 and 38, respectively. I

Between the cutting mechanism and the delivery end of the conveyer 29 isa pair of feed rolls 39 40. Said rolls are driven, in

this instance, from a gear wheel 41 (Fig.

4) fixed on the shaft of the roller 30. The gear 41 meshes with anintermediate pinion 42, which in turn engages a gear wheel 43 fixed tothe feed roll 39. The feed roll 40 is adjustable toward and away fromthe roll 39, therefore the gear train connecting the roll 40 with thegear wheel 41 is preferably mounted for adjustment. As herein shown, anarm 44 is pivoted on the shaft of the roller 30 and carries twointermeshing gears 45 46, the gear 45 meshing with the gear 41, and thegear 46 meshing with a gear 47 fixed to the feed roller 40. The arm 44has an operating handle 48, and is fixed in adjusted position bysuitable means, such as a screw 49 ext-ending through an arcuate slot 50in the handle into the frame of the machine. The feed roll 40 may beadjusted in position by any suitable means, as, for instance, that fullydescribed in my said copending application. The means there showncomprises a pair, of threaded rods 4O" engaging the slidable bearingsfor the upper feed-roll, pinions 40 upon the upper ends of said rods,other pinions 40 meshing with the first mentioned pinions, and a rodconnecting the lastmentioned pinions for moving them to adjust thebearings of the feed-roll.

The blocks 7) are removed from thecutting mechanism by suita'ble means,as, for

example, an endless belt conveyer 51, which may be similar in allsubstantial respects to the conveyer 29 and may be driven from the sameshaft 7, as herein shown, by a pawl and ratchet mechanism similar to thedevice 34 35 36. The space between the cutting mechanism and thereceiving end of the conveyer 51 may be bridged by a plate 52. A plate53 supports the sheet a between V the feed rolls 39 40 and the cuttingmechamsm.

At the discharge end of the conveyer 51 the sheet of blocks 7) isreceived in any suitable manner. In the case of macaroons, the sheet istransferred to a toasting machine, and after the blocks have beentoasted the sheet, or sections thereof, are placed in boxes. It will beseen that the blocks issue from the cutting machine in a definite andcompact arrangement, that the blocks being connected together cannotbecome displaced with relation to one another, and that because of thecompact arrangement of the blocks as they come from the cutting machinethe blocks need not be separately handled and packed close together whenbeing boxed for the market.

Confectionery stock is very sticky, especially during warm Weather. Ihave therefore arranged the machine with particular reference to thenecessity for preventing the material from adhering to the operatingparts, to as great an extent as possible, and for removing from theoperating parts the material that may unavoidably adhere thereto.Instead of using a stationary die, which could not well be cleanedwithout stopping the machine, I have provided a rotatable die, in orderthat its surface may be automatically cleaned during the operation ofthe machine. The cleaning means may be of any suitable character; I haveherein shown a scraper blade 54 contacting the surface of the cylinder23. Similar scrapers 55 56 may be provided for the feed rolls 39 40.

Adhesion between the material and the cutter, die, stripper and ejectoris reduced to a minimum by moistening said operating parts. To this end,a water-spraying pipe 57 having perforations in one side is arranged ateach side of the cutting mechanism and connected with a suitable supplyof water by means of a pipe 58. In the pipe 58 is a valve 59. Atsuitable intervals the operator opens the valve 59 and sprays the cutter15. The felt 22 in the stripper tends to retain moisture and thusassists to keep the surface of the cutter moist. When desirable, thefelt 22 may be removed for renewal, cleaning or moistening.

The cutter 15 is removably secured in place in any suitable manner topermit of using different forms of cutters. As herein shown, the cutteris attached to the crosshead 13 by screws 60. The stripper is detachablysecured in place by screws 61 (Fig. 6). The die cylinder 23 is mountedon with drawable pivots 62, so that the cylinder may be removed andanother substituted when the cutter is changed.

In operation, a sheet a is placed on the conveyer 29, and is fed by saidconveyer and the rolls 39 40 to the cutting mechanism. The latter cutsthe sheet to form blocks 2) and punches from the sheet the materialbetween the blocks. The connected series of blocks is removed from thecutting mechanism by the conveyer 51, while the scraps drop into thereceptacle 1.

The invention is not limited to the details herein described, forvarious modifications will occur to persons skilled in the art.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a block-forming machine, a cutter comprising a portion adapted tocut onehalf of a row of blocks and another portion adapted to cut theadjacent half of another row of blocks, said port-ions being notched toprovide cutting edges of differing heights.

2. A block-forming machine comprising a reciprocatory cutter, a rotatoryhollow cylinder having a peripheral die-opening therein, into whichopening said cutter is arranged to pass, and means for ejecting scrapfrom the cutter and into said cylinder, the latter having anotherperipheral opening therein through which the scrap escapes in therotation of the cylinder.

3. In a confectionery machine, in combination, a reciprocatory cutteradapted to cut the outlines of blocks in a sheet, said cutter comprisinga portion adapted to cut onehalf of a row of blocks and another portionadapted to cut the adjacent half of another row of blocks, said portionsbeing notched to provide cutting edges of differing heights; a rotatorycylinder having die openings and scrap-outlet openings therein;reciprocatory ejectors mounted in the cutter for punching from the sheetand into the die cylinder the pieces of material between the blockoutlines; means for feeding a sheet to the cutter; and means forremoving the sheet of blocks from the cutter.

4. In a block-forming machine, means for feeding material, means forremoving material, and means interposed between the two first-mentionedmeans for cutting the material into blocks, said cutting meanscomprising reciprocatory cutters, a rotary die arranged to cooperatewith said cutters, a stripper cotiperating with said die, ejectorsmounted within said cutters, and means for moistening said cutters.

5. In a block-forming machine, a cutter comprising a portion, adapted toform onehalf of the block and the adjacent half of the next block, amovable die coiiperating with said cutter, ejectors fitting within thecutter and arranged to punch out the material between said blocks, andmeans for stripping material from the outside of the cutter.

6. In a block-forming machine, a reciprocatory cutter, a diecoiiperating therewith, an ejector slidable within said cutter andhaving a portion adapted to absorb moisture, forming the discharging endand a stripper surrounding said cutter and having a moisture absorbingportion for moistening said cutter.

THOMAS L. BUGLER. Witnesses:

PHILIP G. GonBEL, THOMAS W. BUGLER.

Copies of this patent may he obtained for five cents each,

by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, I). C.

